In the United States there were about 500 million credit cards in circulation in 1974, and an additional 200 million were issued that year on new accounts or to cover maintenance (renewal). These numbers do not include the emerging debit card field (for bank or S&L account access), nor the ID and security card fields.
Such cards (called herein "credit cards" for simplicity) being equivalent to or providing access to money, property or credit, must be handled with accuracy under stringent security during issue of the cards, i.e., manufacturing, preparing for distribution, and actual distribution (e.g., by mailing) to the cardholder-customer. The correct number of cards must be correctly embossed and/or encoded with the cardholder's account number and other data. The embossed cards must be protected from theft until they are in the hands of the cardholders.
The preparation for distribution of the cards must likewise be done accurately under stringent security precautions. The cards are normally placed in what is called a carrier and mailed (first-class registered or certified mail) to the cardholders. Advance notice and/or follow-up verification mailings may also be used to help insure against theft or notify promptly of non-receipt by the addressee-card user.
It is an extremely serious matter when the wrong cardholder receives the wrong card or wrong number of cards. If a cardholder is supposed to get two or three cards and receives only one, or if a cardholder receives a card of another account, there is a chance for theft of goods by credit cards. The average loss is in the four-figure range with highest losses in five figures. The matter is even more serious in the case of debit cards. Such cards give access to a person's checking and/or savings account. Cards going to the wrong person creates a theft potential. This highlights the need for carrier forms and manual or machine methods of accurate inserting and preparation for distribution.
Currently, carriers for cards are typically heavy paper stock having two or four straight, diagonally oriented, separated slits to hold two or four corners of the cards. Most cardholding carriers are single sheets of card stock slightly smaller than number 9 or 10 envelope size so that they can be inserted in a mailing envelope. Pocket-type carriers are made of two sheets of paper glued or secured together to provide a pocket therebetween. A slit in the upper sheet for access to the pocket may be provided, or access may be at the sheet edges. Other currently used carriers may be single sheets having a single fold to provide two flaps of slightly smaller than envelope size; these are commonly used in carriers having two diagonal slits in one of the flaps. A few current carriers have a second fold to provide a third flap, and some of these have no slits for retaining the cards. Some carriers (no longer in extensive use) employed pressure-sensitive glue or tape to secure the cards thereto.
Typically, currently available carriers have space for two cards oriented horizontally, that is, with the long axis of the card oriented parallel to the printing and/or long axis of the carrier (as folded for mailing). Simple, single-flap carriers are relatively inexpensive, running around $10-30/thousand, while the multi-layer, pocket-type carriers are very expensive, running $35-80/thousand.
Most cards are inserted manually in the two-slit, no-slit or pocket carriers. There are two basic approaches. In one, the person inserting the card has a stack of precut, single-sheet carriers having no account information thereon, and a stack of presequenced cards. They also have a stack of separate sheets of thin paper which are presequenced mailers with address and account information. The inserter compares the account number on the card to that on the separate mailer. The cards are inserted by hand into the slits or pockets of the carrier, assembled with the mailer, and then placed in envelopes. The second approach involves having account information typed onto the individual carriers which are presequenced and assembled with presequenced cards. A top-rated inserter is capable of inserting 1,500 accounts in an 8-hour day with an average of 1.7 cards per account. The average acceptable rate is generally 1,000 accounts per day, and low is 750/day.
Correct presequencing of the cards and carriers or inserts is critical to any reasonable rate of manual insertion and to reducing the frequency of mismatch errors. Further, such manual insertion rates require many workers in order to keep up with the rate of production of credit or debit cards. For example, automated embossing machines have a current card embossing rate ranging from 350 to 1,500 cards/hour. The rates are the same for encoding cards bearing magnetic stripes.
We believe there is a machine available that can insert a card in a four-slit carrier by flexing the card along both its major and minor axis so the four corners can be popped into four respective corner slits. Another machine is capable of putting a dab of glue on the carrier and depositing the card thereon. However, neither machine matches the cards and carriers, so mismatch errors will occur unless exact sequencing is maintained. In automated equipment of this non-verifying type, once a sequence error occurs, all subsequent insertions will continue to be mismatched.
Current hand and machine inserting depends on the accurate presequencing of the cards and mailers or carriers. Further, where cardholders are to receive three cards, a second carrier must be used or the cards must be piggy-backed. Carriers have positions for either one or two cards held in horizontal orientation. For issues having more than two cards, the cards are stacked or placed piggy-back in one or both positions. Generally, no more than two cards are piggy-backed in any one position allowing a maximum of four cards in a two-position carrier.
The current carriers render methods of inserting relatively slow and prone to errors. They are not particularly adaptable to both hand and machine inserting, folding and stuffing, and normally require separate address inserts. There is thus a need for improved credit card carriers that are simple, rapid and inexpensive to manufacture, to preprint with account and verification information, and which are useful for manual or machine inserting. The instant carrier satisfies those needs and is particularly adapted to automated mechanical verification and insertion of credit cards in the apparatus and method shown and described herein.